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African News Agency

The African News Agency is a news and content syndication service, focusing on news about Africa written by Africans for an African and international audience.

Black rhino population increases by 800

24th March 2020 The number of critically endangered black rhino in the wild have increased by nearly 800 over a six-year period, according to a statement released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The black rhino population across Africa has grown at a modest annual rate of 2.5% from an... →

Ramaphosa spells relief for companies in Covid-19 distress

24th March 2020 As South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown to curtail the runaway spread of the Coronavirus in South Africa, he also revealed assistance packages for businesses in distress due to the crisis. “Using the tax system, we will provide a tax subsidy of up to R500 per... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa announces 21-day lockdown for South Africa

23rd March 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a national lockdown in South Africa as the government announced measures to curtail the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19). "The National Coronavirus Command Council has decided to enforce a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days with effect from midnight on... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

SA labour department uses UIF to help companies hit by Covid-19

20th March 2020 The department of labour will soon formally publish special regulations offering Unemployment Insurance Fund relief to companies that find themselves in distress due to the Covid-19 outbreak in South Africa, a senior official has said. In cases where a company is forced to shut down for a limited... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi

Renault suspends production in Casablanca and Tangier

20th March 2020 French car manufacturer Renault on Thursday temporarily suspended its manufacturing operations in Casablanca and Tangier amid global concern over the Covid-19 outbreak. The plants employ over 11 000 people, according to online publication Morocco World News. →

Higher dam levels will help fight Covid-19 – water and sanitation

19th March 2020 Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has instructed her department, human settlements, water and sanitation, to pull out all stops to increase water provisioning and sanitation especially to the most vulnerable, people in informal settlements and rural areas, to assist in curbing the spread of the virus. The... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Vaal Dam

Tanzania set to launch tender for single gauge railway to Rwanda, DRC

12th March 2020 The Tanzanian government has announced that it will soon invite international tenders for the construction of a standard gauge railway (SGR) to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), building and construction magazine, Construction Review Online reported. Tanzania's chief government... →

SAA says adhering to safety protocols on Covid-19

12th March 2020 National carrier South African Airways said on Thursday its operational health and safety procedures were in line with the World Health Organisation’s protocols to protect its passengers and crew from contracting Covid-19. On Wednesday WHO declared the coronavirus disease a pandemic as it... →

Standard Bank funding model helps Growthpoint Investec African Properties expansion

12th March 2020 A funding solution from Standard Bank’s Real Estate Financing division has helped Growthpoint Investec African Properties Limited (GIAP) expand its sub-Saharan footprint, following the acquisition of properties from the RMB Westport Fund I (RMBW). Historically, property acquisition in sub-Saharan... →

Eskom to implement 'stage 4' rolling power cuts until Friday

12th March 2020 South Africa's electricity utility Eskom said on Thursday it would continue implementing "stage 4" rotational powercuts until Friday following a breakdown at its Koeberg station and the associated loss of generating capacity. "The faulty pump at Koeberg has now been repaired and is running again.... →

WHO declares Covid-19 a pandemic

12th March 2020 The World Health Organisation on Wednesday declared Covid-19 a pandemic, as the number of confirmed cases approach 120,000 worldwide. "There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives. Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals," said Dr... →

Eskom seizes assets from Emfuleni to recover millions in arrears

11th March 2020 Eskom on Tuesday began implementing an attachment order against the Emfuleni municpality in response to its failure to pay millions in arrears, with the sheriff seizing cars, furniture and other moveable assets. A court order in 2018, gave Eskom the go ahead to recover R615-million in arrears... →

Eskom moves to Stage 4 load-shedding after Koeberg unit trips

10th March 2020 South African power utility, Eskom, on Tuesday announced Stage 4 load-shedding from 14:00 after Koeberg Power Station's unit 1 tripped. "The unit has been disconnected from the grid due to a fault on the turbine side, however, the nuclear reactor remains safe. The teams are investigating the root... →

Eskom announces stage 4 loadshedding from 2pm

10th March 2020 South African power utility, Eskom, on Tuesday announced stage 4 loadshedding from 2pm after Koeberg Power Station's unit 1 tripped. "The unit has been disconnected from the grid due to a fault on the turbine side, however, the nuclear reactor remains safe. The teams are investigating the root... →

Cape Town cuts water to PRASA, electricity to follow

10th March 2020 The Cape Town municipality has cut water supply to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and will do the same with electricity supply to the troubled entity on Tuesday, deputy mayor Ian Neilson said on Monday. The disconnection comes after PRASA missed a deadline of Friday imposed by... →

Report shows Covid-19 could knock $4bn from Africa’s commodity revenues

10th March 2020 A new report has warned that sub-Saharan African economies could be badly affected by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on Monday said the virus could impact sub-Saharan Africa by as much as $4-billion in export revenue. →

SAA begins retrenchment process

10th March 2020 South African Airways (SAA) has issued notice to all 4 700 of its employees that it intends to begin consultations on retrenchments, the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for the troubled national carrier said on Monday. "The joint BRPs today announced that SAA has issued a notice advising its... →

Stage 2 load shedding to be implemented from Tuesday, says Eskom

10th March 2020 Eskom says it will continue increase load shedding to Stage 2 from 9am on Tuesday, which is likely to continue for the rest of the week due to further delays on some generation units that were expected to return to service on Monday. Eskom says the delays have put additional pressure on the... →

Eskom to implement stage 1 load shedding from 9am on Monday

9th March 2020 Eskom will implement stage 1 load shedding from 9am on Monday morning to 11pm on Monday night, the state-owned power utility said. "It is envisaged that load shedding may continue to be implemented until Thursday," Eskom said in a statement on Sunday night. This was due to a number of units still... →

Mozambique commited to boost SA energy supply

4th March 2020 The government of Mozambique is exploring ways to enhance cooperation with South Africa in the energy sector, following South Africa’s Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s working visit to Maputo. Mozambique’s Energy Minister Ernesto Max Tonela held a closed door meeting with Mantashe last month.... →

Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

No loadshedding expected on Tuesday, but possibility has increased

3rd March 2020 Loadshedding was not expected on Tuesday, but the possibility of rotational blackouts had increased due to a high number unplanned outages, Eskom said on Monday night. "We are utilising emergency generation reserves to supplement supply. The generation system remains constrained, vulnerable and... →

Moody's voices warning on Mboweni's budget

28th February 2020 Moody's ratings agency on Friday warned that the economic forecasts contained in finance minister Tito Mboweni's 2020 budget had been rendered uncertain by the liabilities placed on the state by stricken parastatals and the labour movement's reaction to public wage bill reductions. "Uncertainty... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Eskom power cut derails Western Cape train service, Mbalula not impressed

27th February 2020 Commuter trains throughout the Western Cape came to a halt on Thursday as Eskom disconnected power to Metrorail due to unpaid bills, causing transport chaos in the province. Limited service was restored by late afternoon after the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), which owns... →

South African budget highlights scale of fiscal deterioration – Fitch

27th February 2020 South Africa's 2020 budget review highlights the severe deterioration underway in public finances and the long-term policy challenge of stabilising government debt, ratings agency Fitch said. Fitch, which like S&P Global has downgraded South Africa's credit standing to sub-investment grade, said... →

Minerals Council CEO says Mboweni is on the right path

27th February 2020 The Minerals Council South Africa on Wednesday said it believed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has taken important steps to address South Africa’s economic crisis, building on the direction from President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address two weeks ago. “But it is just the... →

Numsa march against exploitation in Rustenburg mines

27th February 2020 About 100 members of the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) from Lanxess chrome mine in Rustenburg braved the scorching sun on Wednesday, to march against exploitation in the mines. Dressed in red union T-shirts they chanted as they snaked through Unie Street heading to the offices of the... →

Charge copper thieves with economic sabotage, says Mbalula

25th February 2020 Copper thieves should be charged with economic sabotage rather than common theft, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula suggested in Parliament on Tuesday. Mbalula told the portfolio committee on transport that stolen copper rail cables were exported to India through Mozambique by syndicates, and... →

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula

No load-shedding expected on Monday as outlook is positive, says Eskom

24th February 2020 No load-shedding is expected on Monday, as the power generation outlook is positive, with four generation units returning to service, Eskom said. "With the planned return of four generation units, as well as adequate emergency reserves, Eskom does not expect to implement rotational load-shedding... →

I'm not dithering on more energy capacity, says Mantashe

20th February 2020 Mineral Resources And Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on Thursday said there was no deliberate delay on his part in bringing more renewable power to the grid to solve South Africa's energy crisis, but simultaneously declined to commit to timelines on signing up additional capacity. "One of the... →

CPI up 4.5% for January

19th February 2020 Annual consumer price inflation increased at a faster rate of 4.5% in January, compared to 4% in December, according to data released on Wednesday. The rate was buoyed by increases in the price of fuel, food and utilities. Housing and utilities notably contributed 1.2 percentage points, and... →

Labour federation Fedusa slams 3.8% national minimum wage increase

19th February 2020 The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) said it was outraged after the employment and labour minister only increased the statutory minimum wage by 3.8% to R20.76 an hour with effect from March 1. The country's National Minimum Wage Act came into effect at the beginning of 2019,... →

Eskom CEO says it wants hand in negotiating IPP pricing

18th February 2020 Eskom wants to play a role in negotiating the price at which new and existing independent power producers sell electricity to the embattled utility, CEO Andre de Ruyter told MPs on Tuesday, "It is very important that [with] the roll-out of the new IPP programme that Eskom, as the ultimate buyer... →

Photo by Donna Slater
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

Govt allocates R143m for drought relief in Limpopo

18th February 2020 South Africa's department of human settlements, water and sanitation has allocated R143-million for drought relief in Moutse in Limpopo province. The funds will be administered by water board Lepelle Northern Water within Sekhukhune district municipality towards drilling new boreholes and... →

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu

Ramaphosa to meet business executives on infrastructure investment

18th February 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa was due to meet the chief executives of commercial banks and leaders of multilateral development finance institutions on Tuesday to assess progress made in efforts to intensify infrastructure investment, his office said. In a statement, the Presidency said the... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Mboweni moots referendum on rescuing State-owned companies on Twitter

17th February 2020 After a short hiatus from Twitter, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is once again posting prolifically, using the platform at the weekend to call for a public debate, possibly a referendum, on the use of taxpayers' money to bail out failing State-owned enterprises. "We must develop a democratic... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Commission recommends approval of PepsiCo’s acquisition of Pioneer Foods

12th February 2020 South Africa's Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal conditionally approve the acquisition of Pioneer Foods by a wholly-owned subsidiary of United States multinational food and beverage company PepsiCo. Simba gave notice last July of its intention to acquire the... →

TLU SA objects to forced, costly water meters for irrigation farmers

12th February 2020 In an official letter to the Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, TLU SA on Tuesday strongly objected to an announcement on the installation of obligatory water measuring devices for irrigation farmers. According to a notice published in the Government Gazette on 17 January,... →

Ramaphosa calls for SA, Germany to tackle energy challenges

6th February 2020 As German chancellor Angela Merkel began a state visit to South African on Thursday, president Cyril Ramaphosa called for greater cooperation between the two nations on clean energy, low carbon growth and skills training. Speaking after bilateral talks with Merkel, Ramaphosa said they had agreed... →

SA business confidence declines in January

6th February 2020 Confidence among South African businesses dipped in January, a survey showed on Thursday, weighed down by uncertainty around the domestic and global economy. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's business confidence index was 0.9 index points lower at 92.2 in January compared with... →

Eskom to implement Stage 2 load-shedding continuously

5th February 2020 Eskom said on Wednesday morning it would implement Stage 2 load-shedding continuously until Thursday morning as electricity capacity constraints did not allow it to give clients respite during morning and afternoon peak traffic periods. "Stage 2 rotational load-shedding is currently in effect... →

Eskom confirms Stage 2 load-shedding will continue until Thursday

4th February 2020 Eskom confirmed on Tuesday that it would continue with Stage 2 load-shedding until Thursday morning. The embattled power utility, which has a total generating capacity of 46 000 megawatt, said unexpected outages cost it 11 389 megawatt on Tuesday morning. Stage 2 load-shedding allows Eskom to... →

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